Targeted national road safety work in Finland started for more than 20 years ago. However, generally accepted guidelines for the preparation of road safety programs have not been available. This paper describes a suggestion for such guidelines. The starting point in the preparation of traffic safety programs is the description of the present state of road safety and the forecast of its future development. The annual number of fatalities is taken for the main indicator of road safety situation. The programs typically reach 5 to 10 years into the future and the primary goal is expressed as the maximum acceptable number of fatalities in the end of the program. The counter-measures that are needed to reach this goal are selected by using the cost-effectiveness criterion, which allows the target to be reached at the lowest possible net cost to the society. The cost-effectiveness calculations can be completed by qualitative assessment of impacts that cannot be valued in monetary terms. It is emphasised that decisions concerning the targets and the final adoption of the program should be made at the highest political level to ensure fluent implementation of counter-measures. In addition, the implementation and the effects of counter-measures should be closely monitored so that corrective actions can be taken without delay when needs arise. Research on the effects of selected counter-measures improves the preparation of future traffic safety programs. (A)
Abstract